Introspective Souls & The Living God

Introspection

Introspection is defined as the process of carefully examining one's own feelings, thoughts, and ideas. In other words, it is the intentional process of interior self-examination.  This can be a positive help in some instances, enabling us to root out, uncover and understand certain personal tendencies we may have. 

But, many times, if not properly managed, introspection can lead to an introspective personality, where we tend to examine our own feelings, thoughts, or ideas in the depths of our own subconscious being, instead of communicating with other people. In other words, we become inward focused, and this inward focus, re-enforced by thoughts which we deem to be our own, tends to increasingly guide our perception of who we are, or how we may appear to others. This focus can lead to a certain captivity and ultimately distort a proper understanding of the self, which is only found through communication with others, firstly and foremost, through communication with the Living God.

The end result of such an inward introspection is very often the unveiling of a persona rooted in 'self love' or even 'self hatred', - which can only lead to cycles of depression and ultimate despair.

A soul which is introspective in this manner will often look down on others or focus on the failures of others. Such a soul will also necessarily develop an independent and self-sufficient spirit to protect the persona which he or she projects, and may become generally unapproachable and aloof, and, very often, defensive when criticized by others. Such a soul must live off of its own glory, which will ultimately fade and wilt under the pressures of life's adversities, and the consuming knowledge that one day this projected self will be consumed by the ravages of sickness and death.

Yet, to varying degrees, all souls are plagued by this introspective reality, and the only escape from its complicated and sorted web is to experience God's personal love, which offers healing and imparts wisdom, purpose and hope. There, from this center, we can allow God's thoughts to become our own and begin to walk with the Living God as our great friend and benefactor.

Yet, how is it possible to achieve this when most of the modernist Christian church, whether conservative or liberal, Catholic or Protestant, is itself tragically introspective, and disconnected from this great and saving truth? The truth that God, through his son Jesus, knew that man could not survive the gauntlet of this life by means of a mere intellectual assent to His offered salvation. Knowing that such an assent would not survive the assault of the death camps of Nazi Germany, nor the assault of the spirit of lust and consumptive power which pervades our own times. Jesus offered much more -His very real Presence and healing.

Who then can God send to such a godless self-centered world if not those of His followers who have experienced a baptism into the fire of His love -reaped from an earnest repentance and heartfelt submission to the will of the Father? 

Yet, for such followers a time of difficult testing is at hand. Will we be willing to pay the price necessary to make His Presence and healing known to the deeply introspective and lost souls of our day, or continue to plan for a feast on Superbowl Sunday oblivious of the destiny to which Jesus calls us?

For, to enter into such a call, much more will be required than a meal offering - it will take a Living Sacrifice.

This Too Shall Pass - My Brother Greg

From My Journal

My brother Greg was a beautiful man -tall, broad, strong and having a tremendous sense of humor. But, following his wartime experience in Viet Nam (1967), and his return to civilian life, his life's journey was to be long and arduous, as he would be caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol and other kinds of worldly abuse.  It would require a great deal of prayer and intercession, (and ultimately, in my faith experience, the miraculous work of the Mother of God) to pull him at his death from the mire of this world into the saving realm of heaven. [That is a separate remarkable story in itself not reported here.]

Many years following his return from Viet Nam (somewhere in the late 80's), I was able to situate Greg in Section 8 housing, and he moved from place to place until eventually finally settling in Beverly, MA in a large rented room and kitchen area.  He stayed there for many years until his death in 2004.  However, he continually ended up in trouble (including a six month incarceration in NH,), and we never knew what was going to happen next. Then, on one Thanksgiving Day we all attended dinner at the house of one of my brothers-in-law and Greg came along. After the meal, Greg and I decided to go for a walk when he presented me with a hedgehog. He reported that he had for the third time been caught dealing drugs and was scheduled for a criminal trial which could land him in prison for a considerable period. It was then, while walking in the cold, and suffering considerable consternation over what I had just heard, that I heard my angel say audibly: "This too shall pass."  Hearing this mystified me, and, while this "word of knowledge" was consoling, I really wondered what it could mean. (You might ask how I knew it was my angel, but this was a "knowing" on my part.)

Well, it took about a year to play out, and I remember well being involved with his defense attorney trying to resolve the impossible impasse erected before us.  But, my angel was correct, as the district attorney permitted my brother to act as a witness for the prosecution by identifying the dealer from whom he had purchased the drugs, and agreed to a reduction in charges in settlement.  To my amazement, Greg was only sentenced to a period of probation, and having ducked a sure bullet, never again dealt in drugs, and never again presented us troubling issues outside of his own declining health.  

God, to his glory and faithful to his word, proved himself up to the task -which ushered in my own profound prayer of thanksgiving. Yes, on Thanksgiving Day God promised a day of thanksgiving. May he be praised!

There are many lessons to be learned from this event. God knows future events and is concerned with them -even those we might consider mundane. God will work on our behalf, if we pray and seek his help with a sincere and contrite heart. And, God can always bring good out of evil. Even if in this case Greg had been sentenced to jail for a term, I have faith that good would have flowed from it.  Another very significant lesson to be learned from this experience is the fact that general suffering is greatly minimized for a believer who places his or her life -and its purpose and destiny -into the hands of God.  Outside of that place of considerable safety and protection, suffering can be greatly expanded, largely due to the exploitative work of Satan and his minions. By this I mean the avoidance of anxiety, fear, confusion and general spiritual darkness, which very often leads to both mental and physical diseases of all kinds.

I know -a tome can be written regarding this spiritual truth, but that is for another day.